You might not want to go vegetarian or vegan, but decreasing the amount of meat you eat by going meatless a few days per week can benefit your health, your wallet, and can reduce greenhouse gases. It can help with reducing your weight as studies show that eating meat is linked to obesity.

Decreasing meat consumption can also reduce your risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cancer. When you consume less meat, you have more room for vegetables, fruits, and grains that people eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) don’t often get enough of.

A study showed that the risk of coronary heart disease decreased by 4% with each serving of fruits and vegetables. It also found the risk of stroke was lowered by 5%. Eating a plant-based diet can treat and reverse heart disease.

When eating a more plant-based diet, you eat more fiber which can help you feel full and consume fewer calories. Research shows this can also help fight type 2 diabetes.

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends limiting your red meat intake and avoiding processed meat. There is evidence that both can cause colorectal cancer. The Institute advises limiting your weekly intake of red meat to 18 ounces.

Worried About Getting Enough Protein?

These are just some of the adverse effects of eating red and processed meat. So you might be wondering what you can eat in place of meat. Don’t worry about getting enough protein. Here are four meatless options.

Lentils

You might have bypassed lentils in the grocery store not really knowing how to prepare them or how to use them. Maybe they didn’t look too appetizing, but this legume is a good meat alternative. A half a cup of cooked lentils has 9 grams of protein. Lentils also contain potassium, iron, folate, fiber, magnesium, and antioxidants. Simply put them in a strainer and rinse them under water. Boil a pot of water and add the lentils. Simmer them for approximately 25–30 minutes.

Use lentils in salads, stews, veggie burgers, soups, tacos, pasta sauce, lentil burgers, and as a substitute for ground beef or ground turkey in meatloaf.

Quinoa

This seed is a complete protein that provides all nine essential amino acids, and a half a cup of cooked quinoa provides 4 grams of protein. If you haven’t tried it because you’re not sure how to cook it, it’s easier than you think. Unlike lentils, you want to measure the amount of water you use. Make sure your water is twice the amount of the seeds you use. So if you want to cook one cup of quinoa, use two cups of water. Rinse the quinoa with water while rubbing it to remove the bitter tasting saponins in its coating before putting it in a pot. Bring the water and quinoa to a boil and then cover and simmer for 12–15 minutes.

Along with its fiber and protein content, quinoa contains anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. It also contains vitamin E, zinc, magnesium, and folate.

Quinoa can be used as a substitute for couscous, pasta, or rice, and can be added to stews, soups, salads, and in breakfast meals in place of oatmeal. It’s also good in a bake with nuts, cinnamon, and bananas or berries.

Beans

Another alternative to meat, beans can provide about 7.5 grams of protein in a half a cup, depending on the type. To cook dried beans, put them in a bowl and cover with water. Drain them and then fill the bowl again with water, using at least three times as much water as beans. After letting them soak overnight, drain them and then rinse them until the water is clear. If you don’t want to soak your beans before use, canned beans don’t require that step. Try to find a brand that is BPA free and simply rinse the beans thoroughly before using.

There are a variety of beans to choose from including navy, pinto, cannellini, black, kidney, fava, and chickpeas (or garbanzo beans).

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and a half a cup of cooked tempeh provides 11.5 grams of protein. It’s a versatile meat alternative, as it takes on the flavour of what it’s cooked with. Since it is fermented, it provides probiotics which are good for such things as improving your digestion and immune system.

You can buy tempeh that is fresh or “ready to eat.” You might still want to steam the pre-cooked tempeh to soften it a little.

Use tempeh in stir-frys, sandwiches, chili, soups, salads, tomato sauce, tacos, fajitas, and on its own.

These are just four of many alternatives to meat you can use. You can start off slowly with one meatless day per week to see how it goes. Even that one day will benefit your health and the environment. Even if you’re the most die-hard meat eater, you just might find yourself trying new food and discovering that you look forward to your meatless days.

When you think about making healthy food choices, what are the reasons? To have more energy? To look better in your clothes? To lose weight? Is brain health one of the reasons?

Perhaps your memory works well and you haven’t experienced any problems with your cognitive functions. Sometimes we take our brain for granted and don’t really think about nurturing it until noticeable problems arise. Cognitive decline can start as early as age 45, and it’s never too early or too late to start feeding your body and your brain foods they need to work optimally.

Adding the following seven foods to your diet can help nourish your brain.

Blueberries

Not only are blueberries considered to be the highest antioxidant fruit, but studies show they can help improve cognitive function. Five hours after eating a large helping of blueberries in the morning, participants’ performance at mental tasks was better than those who did not. Those who didn’t have the blueberries did worse by 15 to 20 percent. Another study spanning six years of 16,010 elderly people showed that eating blueberries and strawberries delayed cognitive aging by up to two and a half years.

Walnuts

Walnuts not only look like a brain, but research shows that they can help your brain function as well. A study out of The University of California’s David Geffin School of Medicine found that eating a handful or less of walnuts every day can improve concentration, memory, and the speed your brain processes information. Thousands of people in the study aged 20 and up performed better on six cognitive tests. Another benefit found in studies is that those who eat walnuts lost an average of 1.4 pounds more weight than those who don’t. Along with those benefits, vitamin E-rich walnuts are a source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

Leafy Greens

Incorporating leafy greens into your diet can help slow down mental deterioration, according to a study. The study followed 950 older adults’ diets for five years and found that those who ate greens such as mustard greens, spinach, and kale once or twice daily had slower mental deterioration than those who didn’t eat any leafy greens. The participants in the study were an average of 81 years old. There are a wide variety of greens to choose from, including Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, and collard greens.

Beets

Increased blood flow to the brain is a good thing, and Wake Forest University scientists found that the nitrates in beets can do just that. Increased blood flow helps with mental performance, and the participants in the study were given MRIs which showed increased blood flow to the frontal lobes. This is the area that is often linked with degeneration.

Salmon

Alaskan wild-caught salmon is full of omega-3 fatty acids that can protect against Parkinson’s disease. A study shows that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a specific type of omega-3 fatty acid, is what provides the protective effect. Try to eat salmon at least twice a week.

Dark Chocolate

Do you feel guilty about your love of chocolate? Chocolate lovers can be happy knowing that dark chocolate is good for you. A study showed that blood flow to the brains of volunteers improved after consuming high-flavonol cocoa for five days. Another study showed that cocoa can be beneficial for older adults who have cognitive impairment. Flavonols in dark chocolate have both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. To get these benefits, skip white and milk chocolate and look for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa.

Eggs

Eggs are a great source of choline, which has been shown in a study to be associated with a better memory. Eggs are an inexpensive source of protein, and studies show that they don’t raise your cholesterol. If you only eat eggs whites, switch to whole organic, free-range eggs.

These are just seven of the many foods that benefit your brain. If they’re not a regular part of your diet, you can easily incorporate them. Add walnuts and blueberries to your oatmeal or make an omelette for breakfast, make a beet salad with leafy greens for lunch, and bake salmon with lemon and dill for dinner. And when you want a hint of sweetness, have a square or two of dark chocolate.